Tag Archives: Modern Britain

The Wonder of Books and Song.

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I remember when I was just 7 years old and at school, and I was asked what did I want to be when I grew up?

It makes me smile now, but at the time I got into a huge amount of trouble, because for me it was not a great time being a child. My parents had separated when I was just four years old, and even though I was not aware of it, I was not going to see my father again until I was 35 years old, and at that scared and lonely age of seven, I missed him and wanted desperately to see him again. I hated my childhood years, I was in a school where my grandfather had been one of the most successful headmasters of his time, and was still remembered by all the staff, which had been trained by him. To be honest I never had a chance of living up to the standards expected from the staff of Mr Renwick’s grandson. The headmistress hated me, as she was reminded daily of her shortcomings compared to my grandfather, and went out of her way to make an example of me, my mum was also a dinner lady at the school and my every move was reported to her, so I took the added humiliation of being reprimanded very publicly by her. That resulted in making me an easy target for every bully in the school, and as I withdrew into myself, I was different, and awkward, and that made it hard for me to even be accepted by my brothers at home, life felt hard and was a miserable existence, I was a loner lost in world I felt I did not belong in, so when I was asked what I wanted to be, I replied very honestly, “An orphan.”

I can laugh now, but at the time it was like trying to live through a nuclear holocaust, I guess I was too honest and lacked great tact, something which at times these days I can also be a little guilty of. It wasn’t easy growing into a man without a father’s guidance, yet two things saved my life and restored my sole to happiness and inner calm as I grew older, they became the friends and faithful companions that would take me through the rest of my life, and in time help me come to terms with who I was, and who I was capable of being. I think at the age of 50, which I have arrived at this month (February 2014) I can say with clarity, they saved my life, and those two faithful companions have been my books and my music.

Words hold a great place in my heart, I have learned to live by them, as they have been the things I have held onto in the hard times, and my life has had its times of great sorrow and great happiness. My book case and my very precious vinyl record and CD collection are in many ways like a bar code of the days of my life, each coloured stripe marks a particular moment in time that is relevant to what I was doing and who I am today because of it. Every book on my shelf has the advice I needed to get me through a rough patch, and the lyrics of my vast rock collection guided me through my teenage years and have inspired me to grow and learn more and more about life and living through all of my days.

At the ripe old age of 50, I think through my reading and the endless years of listening to music I have finally learned to be at ease with the world and more importantly myself. I made it out alive, thanks to the hopes and dreams of every author and every crazy love sick or troubled musician, who opened their heart and wrote it down on a lyric sheet. To them I have much indeed to thank them for, I feel sorry for the youth of today, they have switched off from the world of books and music opting for the user friendly computer games console, which to be honest teach you little but how to kill your way out of zombie apocalypse or drive over enough police officers and pedestrians to get away from your crime scot free. Modern day consumer driven business I feel has ripped them off and left them high and dry, which if they read a book or too they would understand. I was enrolled into catering college at 16 (not my choice) and even though it was not a place I wanted to be, at that time I did not actually know what I did want to be, so I read all the books I could, and then took what I learned and turned it into lyrics to match all my favourite songs to revise by. It worked out fine as I silently hummed my way through my exams and walked out of college with all distinctions. I smile every now and again as I hear a track playing and remember a recipe or a particular part of my food science exam.

It was at that point rebellion kicked in big time, and off the rails I went, I was to say the least the last of a wild bunch of hippie radicals dragging out their existence through the 1970’s and I dumped catering and went into horticulture to be at one with the universe, and spend my life surrounded by plants. Again I had my books and music, my botany library is indeed a vast one and I very quickly started to shine as I had the ability to learn and apply massive amounts of information setting me well above most of my colleagues as a fountain of horticultural knowledge. I loved my working life in Horticulture, I learned the true meaning of satisfaction in a job, I never made masses of money, but I lived well and taught myself well beyond the limits of the examining board ending up as a public demonstrator, horticultural teacher, container gardening specialist, houseplant expert, tree expert and last but not least bonsai teacher, instructor and designer, not bad at all I think, and all thanks to my books and my love of music which played endlessly encouraging me in the background.

Words on paper and set to rhythm have dominated my life, and behind the scenes they gave me something greater and deeper to ease my soul and help me make the changes within myself that helped me find the courage to change into what I hope is a better and more at ease person. They helped me to write and express what at the tender age of seven I was unable to. Writing allows me to open up and lay things out in black and white so I can read it back and understand the lessons of life and learn from them, writing has been a great therapy that has aided my growth as a human being. I still smile at the faces of those who I meet and they discover that I have walked away from horticulture and become a full time writer; it was something no one either saw or expected until I did a complete U turn and published a book confounding all my friends. These past seven years sat writing have been the best years of my life, for I believe my precious books have finally brought me round in a complete circle to meet the person I was always meant to be, and he is sat here at this very moment, wearing headphones and playing a wonderful version of Bachman-Turner-Overdrives, You aint seen nothing yet, writing this article.

The important thing here I feel is, that reading and listening to some incredibly well written music lyrics taught me, how to forgive, how to communicate and hold down a good job. I learned how to change and become more social, and the true meaning of courage. I have learned respect for all, and acceptance of the fact that everyone sees the world differently, and I will not always agree with them. It has taught me no one wins a war, as everyone suffers, and how everyone deserves a chance to show they have the ability to learn and progress. I also learned how to build a shelter and grow food; I have learned that the wilderness is like an open store filled with the needs of everyone. I too can kill zombies and fight off vampires, and I know all the best places to bury treasure. Most importantly I learned how to live and be happy and to know when to change things to make me happier, and spot the girl of my dreams, and how to hold on to her as I have and always will.

There is a great deal to learn from my life, I was a kid with no idea of what I wanted to do, I was unhappy and afraid of pretty much everything. I was riddled with self-doubt stumbling on from childhood into an adult life devoid of any direction, but I was never alone, I had the power of those who have been before me laying out their ideas of life in verse or fantasy story to guide me slowly forward. Books hold such a wealth of great advice and truths, as do the living experience of those who can be creative and translate that into song, its like having a vast bank of advisors beside you to guide you, and they can help you make up your mind about something, or bring a smile to your face and even make you weep with delight. The thing is they are there silently sat on a shelf waiting to be requested by you for something to take you through that moment of difficulty or give you a well-earned break from the reality of life. The ability to write has to be the greatest achievement of the human race, and we here in the UK we are in serious danger of throwing it all away.

In this country (UK) today we have less than 1000 indie bookshops, and we are slowly destroying our libraries and closing them down, which from the point of view of myself, a lifelong user, I think it is a massive and dangerous mistake for this country. The recording industry is a good example of what is in store for the book industry if we the people to do not take heed and take back what should be there for everyone who is need of it. The government is slashing budgets left right and centre and raising taxes, and soon like the music shops, all the bookshops will close and there will no longer be local libraries. The music industry once offered us a huge choice as did the book industry, but larger commercial enterprises are taking over and refining our selection, and great works are fading away never to be found again, those indie stores that kept us all in touch with all that was available are becoming less and less each year, and even with the libraries that remain open, thier range and selection have lessened, taking vital knowledge away from the good of all of us, and our future generations.

It is time all of us made it clear, we do not wish to see another generation of our young raised without the wisdom of those who have gone before us at hand. We need to use local bookshops and oppose the closure of libraries. We should see it as our duty to encourage everyone we meet to read and use what they learn in life and in leisure. So many complain about falling standards of education in schools, well are you surprised when for over ten years books have not been actively encouraged as a full and important part of a person’s life. If we lose more local bookshops and libraries, and allow the large corporate companies to rule and dictate the terms of our reading, how we will we ever recover as a nation in the future, if those that follow us, are not capable of reading a good well written and educational story? The music industry has lost any hope of keeping independent musicians thriving, the industry has been destroyed and rebuilt as a corporate money maker, and look at the results, it gave us Justin Bieber to inspire our children. It’s a scary thought indeed, and more fitting for a horror story, let’s not let it happen to our beloved book industry and libraries.

I was told at 16 by my careers officer when I wanted to enter into Journalism, “You don’t have what it takes try something else.” My library, bookstore, and music told me different, and today after years of attempts I am a published author, so let’s start now and protect and preserve what we have, and keep the knowledge and life experiences of every creative force with a pen available for future generations.

 

A Generational Thing.

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It’s an odd feeling when you realise you are the last of a generation, and those who have followed on behind you, will never quite understand the world you lived in. I was reminded of this recently whilst out shopping with my son who is 8 years old, when I spotted a large clear bag on the shop shelf that contained the very familiar green plastic moulded soldiers, that played such a dominant role in my own childhood.

I cannot tell you of the twinge of joy that surged through me when I saw them on the shelf, and just for a moment, I was transported back to those days lying on my bedroom floor, my soldiers lined up in rank, and ready to commit to the battle that would send my green clad army of heroes against those devilishly bad grey clad baddies. I think for a moment my son thought I had gone quite insane, and he looked at me with somewhat of a very odd expression, and it was then that I realised.

I am the last of my generation, my brother who was four years my junior was the first of a new breed of children, who did not lie around with soldiers and cowboys or action men, he was the first of a generation that was introduced to the technical age, and he probably feels the same about his beloved Sinclair Spectrum, the first of a long line of computer aided games.

A fond memory from my childhood

A fond memory from my childhood

I still have all my cowboys… its mad really to think about it, but I have no will at all to part with them, I have the fort, the train, the wagons and stage coaches, all the Indians and a mass of cowboys, as well as a whole host of other western related accessories all packed neatly away and stored in my loft. They mean the world to me, even now at the grand old age of 49 they are one of my most precious possessions. Its not because they have value as most would think, I don’t care that I could put them on Ebay and make a fortune selling them, I care and love them simply because when I was just four years old, my Grandfather took me to the shop and bought me my very first one. He did it because I had helped out in the garden and been very well behaved that week, and he bought me Sitting Bull an Native American chief, and in my eyes at that time the coolest one in the entire glass case. I got one each week after that, and over the years my collection grew until it was huge and I reached my teenage years. Today as I write I smile at the memory of those times alone with them and the happiness they brought me, and In many ways it just adds to the feeling that when I leave this world, all my experiences of my time here will leave with me, just as those who have gone before me have.

I grew up surrounded by cowboys and warfare; most of the films I watched were of World War Two, and the epic adventurous of the Wild West, I suppose they were the two most influential aspects of several generations before me, simply due to the fact that the war was an experience most people I knew had lived through. Times have changed and things have moved on, and like those who came after me, for them their experience is somewhat different.

World War Two had a massive impact on the world, and it influenced a great many aspects of the lives of everyone for over three decades after it had happened, my parents grew up listening to the air raid sirens and hearing the hum of planes in the darkened skies at night, they lived through a time of poverty that we can never really understand in these affluent times of today, the centre of their households was not a television, it was a radio, a simple voice informing them of what was happening in the world around them, and life for them was a daily struggle to survive. Its easy to bitch and whine these days about how tough things are for us all with our Flat screen TVs and laptops, whilst stuffing a burger down our throats, but we will never understand the struggle and hardships they suffered on a day to day basis, and in a way I think it is sad that my son does not have that chance to talk and communicate with people who lived through such a traumatic time, for I believe there was a great deal I learned for the older generations in my youth, and sadly most of them have passed on, and that advice and information on that particular way of life is gone forever.

I once had the privilege of being a part of a very wonderful old mans life. Doug was the father of my ex partner, and when I knew him he was in his eighties, he was a very special person and I must admit I was deeply fond of him. I visited him every day, and over time we became very close, he was a member of the British Expeditionary Force that landed in France during the war, and he was more importantly, a survivor of Dunkirk. He spoke very little during his life of his experience of that beach and the horrors he saw, but over my time with him, he began to share more and more of what it was like. His daughter was very surprised, as in all her life she had never heard him talk so openly of Dunkirk, I am not sure why he chose me, but I felt a deep privilege that he did.

I am so lucky, because he opened up a window on a piece of pure history from this nation, unlike my history books, not only did I have the chance to hear a first hand account of that time, I also had the golden opportunity to ask questions. I talked a great deal with Doug towards the end of his life, I saw the horror in his eyes as he described in very graphic detail what he saw as he sat on the sand whilst the enemy forces cut down his friends as they crossed the beaches in their aircraft, I shared his tears and felt his pain.

I had thought of filming or taping it, but such was the sense of honour that he bestowed upon me, I thought I would have been wrong to include a device into what was a very private and personal moment, as he told me things he had never shared with his own son and daughters.

Doug was without doubt a person I admired and deeply respected, the sadness I felt when he passed away was deep and painful, and I do miss him and often my thoughts are with him. The sad thing is that with his passing a very unique chanced left us forever, the chance to look back and see through the eyes of one who witnessed everything, it is something I feel today’s younger generations are being deprived of. I used to laugh and tell him he belonged in a school, but it was no joke, he had an account of pure truth that would have greatly enhanced any classroom, and sadly we have a country filled with such special opportunities that is passing us by, as we have countless generations of memories and experiences leaving us every year.

My Own grandfather once told me, we must learn from the past, to ignore what has been before us is at our peril, I think in the later part of my life I really am starting to understand him better, and it has become a theme I often visit in my own fictional writing, for there is great wisdom in those words.

Here in the UK we dismiss our elderly, we push them out of the family and place them in sheltered accommodation or nursing homes. I feel there is an attitude of lets get them out of the way, as we do not have time to fuss, and we need to get on with more important things like working overtime or going into our online lives. We are one culture who ignores the wisdom of the past, I think looking at current events it is very obvious those important insights shared by people like Doug are ignored and labelled irrelevant, but if I had honestly recorded him as he wept and spoke of those times that filled him with horror, and brought out such desperation in him as he wanted to live and not die there in the sand, I think anyone who heard them, would have a very different view of whether or not we should use armed troops to handle every problem. Doug was a lover of life, even after being involved in combat, and taking away the life of another in defence of his country, his experience had taught him that combat was not and never going to be the answer, I can only wonder at this time how many other soldiers returning in today’s conflict situations feel the same way.

Doug is just one example of one kind of event, and I do wonder how many other important aspects of life we are missing out on? Everyday discoveries are made that inform us of yet another fraction of Celtic or Anglo Saxon life, because there are very few recorded moments from that time to teach us from the past, I look at the internet and the endless streams of garbage it holds, do we really care or need to record the sex lives of celebrities, is it really very relevant to the future of our race how many drugs they take or how many women they sleep with in one night? Who really has the time to honestly say it has interrupted their day, I know I don’t. I honestly do not give a hoot what a famous celebrity does, if that is what they feel they need, bugger em and let them get on with it, I care about people like Doug, or my Father who again has so much to offer from the life he has lived.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could record people like Doug, actually get their own words down on paper, or even better get it up on the Internet and put something worth reading online, surely that should be an important goal, to actually start logging our history as we make it. I know there are a lot of people out there who do; blogging for one thing has grown huge over the last ten years, I know as I read a huge amount of it. I think it is the best thing any of us can do, take what we have experienced and find a way of putting it online, I am trying at the moment to convince my father to share what he has done and learned during his busy and active life, he has so much to offer and I think he should speak out for his generation and share it with those who will never have the chance to witness what he has survived.

My Grandfather was right, we do need to start paying more attention to the past, I think now more than ever before we need to look back and learn from the mistakes we have made. As a race we do need to share what we know and pool it for the good of everyone, because there may come a day when we need it. I have shared my life and the conversations and experiences I have witnessed within my writing. My stories albeit the fantasy stories of Heirs to the Kingdom, have a very solid platform of truth and experience hidden beneath them, but the wisdom of that firm foundation comes through, in some small way, it is the way I express myself and contribute to the voice of my generation, and maybe we should all think a little about how we can best speak out for our own.

The true celebrities of our culture must surely be those who have survived extraordinary events and witnessed the history of our race, and so instead of brushing them aside as none entities, let’s get them online and sharing real truths about real lives.

Let me know what you think in the comments box.

(In Memory of Sapper Douglas Pixton. A Dearly missed friend)

Provoking Thought.

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When I first began to seriously write Heirs to the Kingdom, I thought I would take the story that I had built up in my mind over what had been a long period of time and get it down on paper without really thinking about the words I was committing to the file. I know that sounds a little odd for someone writing a book, but at the time I was just doing an exercise to see if I could actually achieve it. There wasn’t any thought of publishing, or even having to talk to other readers of a finished work, it was simply me alone with my thoughts and feelings, letting everything I had kept deep inside me flow into my fingertips. It is still like that today, I cannot allow the thoughts of what others may think to even enter my mind, it has to be plain and simply that deep inner voice guiding my words, and although most of the people reading my work do not see it, it is probably some of the most deeply held parts of myself that come to the surface.

Sometimes a bike ride can help reduce carbon, so each trip you make will help in a small way

Sometimes a bike ride can help reduce carbon, so each trip you make will help in a small way

Personally it can be quite a surprising experience, as things I never actually intend to share come out in the words I put down, of which I would say the most obvious has been the power that is contained in my love for the plant world and the whole of the planet on which we live. Shortly after writing the first two thirds of the Bowman of Loxley, I let a few very close friends read what I had done, and then waited with baited breath for their comments, it was to say the least quite a nervous point in time. I suppose having been surprised myself at what had come out on the paper my insecurity did increase a little, because I had made some bold statements about how we all live within this world, and pointed out a great deal of my private disillusion with the world.

One of my market trading friends Pru was actually the very first person to read HTTK, and she surprised me a great deal when she informed me that it was indeed very thought provoking, and she had thought a great deal about what was written for quite some time after reading it, and that became a bit of theme, as I allowed others to read the first drafts of the first book. I have never forgotten that time, and even though I still do not allow the opinion of others to cloud my writing of the books, I have begun to open up and share a lot of what I feel passionately about in my Blog posts.

The blogs are for me, another way of expressing my thoughts in a none story environment, it’s a place when I can be a little more direct about my point of view, yet remain within the confines of the HTTK themes. I have found that there are quite a few readers who have not read the books, who still read the blog posts, and as a writer it’s another wonderful way of allowing all the thoughts tumbling through my mind to tumble out for another audience.

The story of HTTK is very much the representation of my struggle through life with various issues, especially that of a green campaigner and supporter. I do see the world as two separate sides in these days, and to be honest at the moment I think the side of stone builders is winning. I see a lot of the ways of Mason Knox in the world today, especially in our Governments across the world as they are seduced and corrupted by big large multinational corporations, I think if Mason was indeed a real living person in today’s world he and his evil mother would very much be the people behind the scenes pushing government’s into raping all of the natural resources of the planet on a road that can only lead to the eventual destruction of everything.

I am and always will be a member of the Woodland Realm, like young Robbie in my own early teens I sought to fight those of power to change the world, and even today I still try to educate people in a way that opens them up to what is really going on globally. I have been ridiculed for a great many years for being the Hippie type campaigning for trees and life, and to be honest what felt like insults in my youth, I wear today as my badge of honour. I have campaigned for petitions and protested and even at times employed a few Specialist tactics under cover of darkness to strike one for the green cause, although these days I am getting a little too long in the tooth for covert activity, and my mind has turned to thinking about other solutions.

Writing is certainly one of them, it’s a little warmer sat at the computer than walking the cold streets handing out leaflets, and I also look at today and the way the world has changed so much since my youth, and ponder as to whether there is a better way for all of us to live together in a more balanced way.

In the UK this week, we have been told that over the coming years we will see our bills rise to an unprecedented level because as our natural gas supply runs out, and old coal power stations are taken offline, we will need to import more gas from the continent. It’s a reality that in a world where those like the Knox family, have corrupted every system, and brought the global economic climate crashing down to the benefit of themselves. Once again the poor of this country and countless others, will be forced into the hardship of bearing the costs, and the costs are not just financial, they are also a cost to the world we live in, a cost that will punish our future generations.

The biggest argument I face is that in this world of technology, people will not support an environmental point of view, because even though they are not calling the government’s into question over their lack of effort on the environment, they have embraced all the new technology so much that to take an environmental road will deprive them of the little joy they have in life these days. When you look at the wide range of products we have available to us, it is a valid point, let’s face it communication and labour saving devices have never been so good, and our lives have been transformed by all of them, but surely there has to be a way forward for all of us to do our bit.

It can appear like a double edge sword, either we change drastically and give up everything, or we continue on the road towards destruction, but really do the choices need to be so stark?

I think not. Why is so impossible to see that the environment and technology can walk hand in hand. In my books I take the best from the old

We can make a choice that uses the best technology to balance our lives, with very little change to the wat we all live

We can make a choice that uses the best technology to balance our lives, with very little change to the way we all live

world and add it to the natural world, in a way that benefits people and yet has little impact on the world, why is so hard for the UK and other countries to follow the same lead? Oil does not have to be the future of everything and neither does Gas powered, I am very anti-nuclear, simply because it’s just too expensive and as we have seen in Japan, it’s not quite as safe as we thought it was. Britain is considering fracking as a gas alternative, but that is actually banned in many European countries because it has been proven to be far more harmful to the water table than our Government are admitting. We have already had one large scale earthquake caused across Yorkshire and Lancashire because of the early drilling; do we really want to destroy and poison the North West of England?

We need jobs to get the economy growing again and take the pressure off the benefits system, as well as move away from the old fossil fuels, so why are we not looking towards Germany for inspiration? Literally on our doorstep, we have so many solutions that are good for everyone that it must provide a way that leads to jobs and cheaper fuels for all. In Germany they invest heavily in green technology, not only do they encourage solar power plates on homes, they have solar farms, which they combine with wind power to create a substantial amount of clean green energy. Ok the costs for setting it up have been high, but let’s be honest, it has to be better to pay UK citizens a good wage and build and install these systems rather than just paying our money to an Eastern European country for extra gas. Wind power across the globe rose by 20% in 2012, Ok so there are a great deal who hate the sight of windmills; personally I think they look a lot better than the gaping holes we create for strip mining, or the sight of large Fracking drills. I love windmills I have to confess, I want a small one on my house, I will probably paint it to look better than just plain white, but yes as soon I can afford it, I will get one simply because it will drop my household bills over time, which means I can invest in more fun tech for me and the kids.

The environment and technology can work as partners, and benefit all of us, but it takes a slight change of thought before we can implement it. Governments can change their view when they see that votes will not go their way, and it is up to all of us to finally make that stand and point them in the right direction. The future of this planet can only come with the will of the people, and it is up to everyone to share the information that will eventually force governments to change their mind. We have to abandon our complacency and apathy towards the way we choose to vote. It can be done as we have seen with the banking industry recently; as it was the public’s opinions that forced the government to make changes that are finally bringing them into line, and caused some very high profile job dismissals.

You make not like the way they look, but its a hell of lot nicer than drilling platforms of a devastated landscape

You make not like the way they look, but its a hell of lot nicer than drilling platforms of a devastated landscape

Just imagine this small point. This country has a huge amount of public buildings, what if we all made it clear that the government should fit solar panels to every one of them.  Have you any idea how many jobs that would create in fitting and manufacturing them? Do you know how much pressure that would take off our old and rapidly decaying oil and gas burning power stations? New technology can be environmental, and a shift such as this would not change the life of anyone, but it would do a massive amount towards reducing carbon emissions in this country, let alone globally. There is a very important lesson to be learned from some of HTTK, and it shows that we can share the best of every world and create a sustainable future for our children and our grandchildren’s generation, it just takes a few moments to think about it, and then voice your opinion, which funnily enough was what the hippies were saying forty years ago, It kinds makes you wonder why we didn’t listen?

There is always another way forward if you take the time to think about it, and then get out of your seat and do something about it. If you look hard enough there are so many other ways to improve our lives and the planet we all share, and whether you believe it or not, it does not belong to those like Mason Knox, it actually belongs to all of us, its home to seven billion people.

 

Pride in my Heritage.

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Uk flagThis weekend we will all mark the celebration of the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth the second, and then within seven days we will enter into the European football championships, and within a few months the nation will rise with pride as we host the Olympic games in our countries capital. It is an astounding combination of events that will all have one central theme, and for myself personally, I think it will be a good thing, all of us no matter what our current situation will have the opportunity to show some national pride.

I say this not as a way of attacking other creeds or cultures, for those who know me, know that I am very much a live and let live kind of person who embraces other creeds and cultures, for I think it is in the knowledge and understanding of others, that we enrich our minds and our own lives.

I will say that one thing that has concerned me for many years, is in the way I feel the culture of being British has slowly eroded away, as many of our traditions have fallen by the way side and we have given up our right to show and celebrate our own culture. It is sad because out of all the nations on this planet, the United Kingdom has indeed a very rich and inspiring past. I am at heart an Englishman, born in Cheshire and very proud of that, it does not mean I am some flag flying thug, who wants to take up arms and rid the country of those who do not share my skin colour or faith. What it does mean is that I am a simple living man who loves the country he lives in, and actually enjoys the diversity of those creeds and cultures that have decided to live on our shores. But the history of this nation is something close to my heart and is indeed something I want to preserve, as I think it is important to all of us, as it has defined who we are, and I think that is something this year more than most, we should celebrate.

We are a very small island and yet we have achieved so much, if you gaze back through time and look at what we have endured, there is a wealth of facts that show the power and resilience of our people. We have been invaded by Rome, and Scandinavia, and mixed with Saxons and Normans as we stood for what we believe in and it gave us a stronger sense of identity, something I think can be attributed to what we now call the war time spirit, that saw us through the trying times of the second world war. It is indeed ingrained into all of us whether we know it or not, and it is something I have woven deeply into the tapestry of the books that I write, for I believe it is something we should give up at our peril.

British Olympic games Logo London 2012I love the admiration that the peoples of America and Canada give out in their patriotism, if you look to the Scots and the Welsh, for years they have fought for the resurrection of their culture and identity, and yet it appears that the English care less for something that should be ingrained in their heart. As a child I danced round the May Pole on May day, most people wore a red rose of St Georges Day, we sang Rule Britannia and the national anthem in school, and at the end of every film at the pictures. At the time I did not understand the significance, but as I have grown older it has become more and more important, because these things provide our sense of history and belonging in our daily lives. I do not believe these to be out dated and racist views, it is our roots that teach us the right path of our future, something again that has become an important theme in my writing, as it is a deeply held belief of my own. My grandfather once told me it was the duty of every Englishman to stand for justice, and fight any injustice he encountered, I can see him now in my mind as he told me, with his stature rising and his face filled with the sense of pride you would see on that of any soldier. For him Queen and country were of the ultimate importance, and nothing would ever shake that belief.

Queen Elizabeth the secondToday in our countries capital we will witness the start of a very historic event, there will be all the pomp and ceremonial pageantry of the past, as our Queen marks her diamond jubilee. I too once thought the monarchy should be let go as we moved towards a republic, it was the ignorance of youth, for today I will celebrate my heritage as an Englishman and pay tribute to my queen, who will match the jubilee of Queen Victoria and by the end of the year surpass her reign and become the longest serving monarch of this country. It will mark yet another milestone in the rich cultural heritage of this country and I will be proud to have been able to witness it.

We have come a long way since the days of the Celts, for it was they who laid the foundations of communities and the identity of those in this land. Since then we have spread from these shores and have been influential in the making of this world, not all we have done we should be proud of, for like all cultures we too have a questionable past, but as a race we have strived together and we have made sweeping changes to the benefit of others. This country has opened its doors and given shelter to many, we have as a single country based in a single faith welcomed and protected those who are not like us, and that too is a very important element of who we have become. It makes me proud to know it is a piece of the puzzle that is my heritage, and for everyone who is born in this land, you too should share that pride.

Great Britain is a small cluster of islands, and yet we still speak out on the world stage with authority. We are renown for the skills of our craftsmen, we are known for our dry sense of fun and humour, we excel in the worlds of arts, our engineers are sought by every nation. We have the greatest system of law and social justice, and have a tradition of pioneering exploration. We once ruled the waves with the best ships of any fleet, and our model of diplomacy has been copied all over the world. Britain’s inventions and pioneers modernised the world we know today, and from our long history of war, we learned to be great at aiding others bring peace and liberty. The thing I love the most is we have a tradition of inspirational writers, and I would hope in time with more practice I could enter that hallowed part of our heritage, who knows? It is an impressive list that goes on and on, and all from this tiny isle surrounded by sea.

There are voices within this country that advise we should play it all down in the name of not offending others, but my argument remains the same. I am proud to be English and a part of the union of this kingdom, I wish no harm or offence to others, as this is deeply personal to me and the land I live on, and I would invite them to join in with me and enjoy this great sense of occasion, and gain a deeper understanding of who I am because of my heritage, discrimination does not live at my address.

The national football team badge of EnglandI do think over the coming year we should raise the flag, support our football and olympic atheletes, and stand for who we are, maybe there is a lesson to be learned from America and we should take a page from their book, and stand unashamed of our heritage and celebrate together as one with great pride. I think not to do so, would be the greatest insult we could pay to those who forged our history and our heritage.

Modern Life

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            In my series of books ‘Heirs to the kingdom’ I create a way of life that is new and developing, built from the ashes of the hectic modern life we all know today. In moments throughout the entire series my characters look back and question the past, which for us is the life we know now. The picture I paint is not a rosy one, and in my discussions with those who have read the books, it is often the main topic that is discussed, and there are a few who feel my picture of life today is far more gloomy than it needs to be, and it never surprises me that those who question my view, are actually aged under 35 years of age.

            I was born in the early sixties and grew up into my teenage years throughout the seventies, a decade I still think was the best for being a teenager. I have very deep and happy memories of those times, and I remember Britain as it was back then, and I am not simply being nostalgic, compared to the way we live today, it does feel like it was a completely different way of living, and I have to confess, I feel saddened that we no longer hold dear the values that we shared back then. Times were very different in My England, because to me, back then it felt like My England, simply because I actually felt like I was involved in it.

            It is impossible to get those who were born after to fully understand, because living in a community and around people who genuinely looked out for each other is an experience you have to have lived in order to fully comprehend it. Britain in the seventies had its faults and its problems, yet below the surface people were very different than they are now. Its sounds so silly, and yet when I walked with my mother down the road, people who were often strangers would greet her, with a polite hello, or take the time to ask how she was, so unlike today, where the few who are on foot, rush past you without so much as looking at you, in their pressing need to accomplish the tasks of their busy day.

            Life for everyone was a struggle, no one really had a huge amount of money, we all budgeted and saved for the few things we owned, we treasured and cared for our possessions, and we worked very hard for the little we had. Life was simple and straight forward, crime was nothing like it is today, and even the local few criminals actually worked with their own code of honour, its almost comical to think of now. If I had to pinpoint one specific point that stands out more than any other to mark life as it was back then, (and I have given this many years of thought,) I would say more than anything else, the one thing that stands out clearest of all from those times in my youth, would have to be the very simple use of showing respect. It is something I find lacking in today’s culture ,and I feel the decay of the eighties and nineties has simply rotted it from our daily life. I often smile as I am served in a busy local shop, when I present myself with a courteous approach as I request my items and pay with a bright cheerful thank you. It does stop people in their tracks, and I see how much of difference it makes, maybe it reminds them like it does me, of a time long gone.

            Britain changed in the eighties and nineties, personally I think the love of money and wealth has got a little bit out of control, although it should not entirely be given the blame. There was a time when every English man was proud of the country he lived in, and he served his community with pride. Playing a role at a local level was something to take pride in, but as we modernised and changed to larger regional councils and authorities, I think we all got lost at a local level and became confused about where our loyalties lay. Our high streets have disappeared as we took the car to the one large supermarket, leaving line after line of estate agents, tanning salons and empty shops on our main streets, and somewhere along the lines we have stopped talking to our neighbours. We use to buy and cook our own food, but now it is cooked and packed in plastic for us to heat up in our microwaves, there has been a revolution in sex, and its orientation, bringing more changes and confusion to our daily lives, religions have sprouted everywhere, confusing the masses more of where their beliefs should lie, and marriage has slipped to the point where it now matches the numbers of common law unions. Corporations have grown into giants, eating up all the competition, and the prices of cheap imports have devalued everything, including how we view each other. The banks have been de regulated to a point where they have brought this country to its knees, and all of this has been done in the name of making life easier for the masses, but honestly, has it?

            Call me a sceptic, but personally I think we have all been conned. The craving for power and influence has overtaken everything, and we have become drones trudging along to the beat of an industry geared up to make you feel so worthless, you buy more with your shrinking purse to feel better about yourself. Well that is my view of England today, innocence has been murdered and respect banished forever, and life I feel is anything but simple. I would gladly travel back to the past of my youth and live a simple life where I had choice and understood my place in the world, sadly with all of high tech wizardry of modern life I cannot, and so I visit the life that appeals to me between the pages of the books I write, and funnily enough, I do find there are a quite a few others out there who have chosen to walk with me.

            Having looked at the world today, I can only feel that we are moving too fast, and I think that the average person is getting left behind, and we seem to be caught in a trap of not being able to understand or choose the direction we should as human beings go in, at the expense of losing something that most people regard as precious. If a modern future is to be had at the expense of losing those all important values from our heritage, isn’t now the time to seriously look at where we are all going to end up? For years now we have changed things simply for the sake of progress, and yet we appear to benefit less. Technology has taken giant strides, and I cannot deny we have all had areas of our life improved as a result, but is the technology now reaching beyond that of our grasp as a simple human beings? I think it is, and as we surround ourselves with more and more possessions, I can only ask do we really need all this simply to exist and be happy?

           England and the British Isles are now a multi national and multi faith society, and I have no problems with tolerance and diversity, after all we are all human beneath our clothing, but a great deal has come at the sacrifice of our identity within this country, and linked with the introduction of so many different changes to our lifestyle, I think people in general have become lost and confused, swallowed into the daily routine that dictates who we are and what we should become. Surely there has to be some point where we can no longer continue as we are, after all the one thing we do know from history is that all Empires eventually fall. Recent days within the banking industry has highlighted the signs of strain on our way of life, are the days of Modern Man numbered? I can only speculate about the future, and one direction the world could take, I have highlighted that in my writing, and I do believe that only a catastrophic disaster will end the world as we know it and give us the chance to rebuild in a way more fitting for the community based way of life we once knew in the past. If it does happen, lets hope we use more common sense and less political correctness, and greed to address the way we live, and treat each other more respectfully, so that everyone will understand the importance of those around them, as we all once did. 

          I am labelled ‘Dreamer’ for my views, and in many ways I am, after all I have chosen the path of a writer, but it was once said that the dreamers of the world chose to take the giant steps that inspire man to move forward, and if making another person think about our world influences a change, surely that must be a good thing. I have created a world in which I would feel very much at home, and if I am honest, because I chose to write about it, I do spend a great deal of my time living within it, I just think it would be wonderful to put down my pen, turn around, and find I am still there.